


This Must Be It

by rendawnie



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Art Nerd Renjun, Cats, Chatting & Messaging, Crushes, Family Drama, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gay King Donghyuck, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Holidays, M/M, New Year's Eve, Pet Sitting, Pets, Phone Calls & Telephones, Rated T for swearing as usual, Sad Cat Backstory, School, Singing, Texting, The author will never not have a potty mouth, What else is new
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-10-04 00:51:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17294552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rendawnie/pseuds/rendawnie
Summary: “I need you to watch my cat,” Donghyuck continued.Renjun was tangentially aware of Donghyuck’s cat. He’d seen the thing in the laundry room with Donghyuck a time or two, because Donghyuck rarely went anywhere without it. Renjun was positive that if it were allowed, Donghyuck would bring his pet to classes, too.Renjunreallywasn’t a cat person.





	This Must Be It

**Author's Note:**

> This is a few days late, but I finished it as fast as I could! Enjoy xx
> 
> Title from "Together We'll Ring in the New Year", by Motion City Soundtrack

**_December 27th_ **

When the knocking started, Renjun was halfway down his third bowl of ramen that day.

The life of a broke college student on winter break was tough, honestly. He hadn’t been able to go home for the holidays, and none of his friends had stuck around for Christmas, so for the last week or so, Renjun had been holed up in his small apartment, existing solely on noodles and zero social interaction.

He didn’t mind it, for the first few days. Renjun caught up on all the sleep he’d missed during finals, and all the housework he’d been neglecting too. Christmas Day was quiet and lonely, but he got through it. Jeno made sure to call and check up on him from his family’s house. It was nice. Jeno was always nice.

But that was two days ago, and it had been all radio silence since. The giant tupperware of slightly burnt chicken Jaemin had gifted him with, so Renjun wouldn’t starve over his break (Renjun kind of hated how his friends knew that he was absolute shit at taking care of himself when there was no one around to remind him) had run out the day before, so there he was, stuck with salty, soggy noodles and absolutely nothing to occupy his time or brain.

The knocking at Renjun’s front door got louder, and he frowned, checking his phone. Maybe Jeno had come back early and wanted to hang out, Renjun reasoned. But, there were no texts from anyone, Jeno or otherwise, just like there hadn’t been since Christmas morning.

Dropping his chopsticks back into the bowl of noodles, Renjun slid what was left of his dinner onto the coffee table and got to his feet. He reminded himself for the millionth time that in the new year, priority one was acquiring a couch.

At first, Renjun had lived in the dorms like most other freshmen. His room was tiny, and he’d shared it with a roommate, Mark. Renjun never learned much about Mark, other than that he was a sophomore with a ridiculously packed schedule that basically meant he was never even in their room, at all. One morning, Renjun had come back from class to find all of Mark’s things gone, his side of the room completely bare as if he’d never even been there in the first place. He’d had to ask around to discover what had happened: a month into the semester, Mark had stood up in the middle of his Government lecture, announced that he “needed a nap”, and promptly took a leave of absence from the university.

Renjun hoped that wherever Mark Lee was, he’d finally gotten the nap in question.

Anyways.

After that, the school had offered to let Renjun move into their new apartment-style student housing. He wasn’t exactly in a position to turn it down -- the apartment was much bigger than his dorm room had been, and he didn’t have to share it with anyone.

(The downside of not sharing with anyone, Renjun found out, was that it became glaringly obvious just how little he had brought with him to school. He only had a coffee table and a lamp to call his own, but his apartment came with a modest futon that served as his bed and some basic amenities, and it had been enough for him.)

Renjun got to his feet, wiping his mouth on his sleeve carelessly. He was vaguely aware that he hadn't showered yet that day, or changed out of his pajamas, but it hadn’t seemed that important when he was all alone. The artistic side of his mind had rationalized it. He was just fitting in with the minimalist, slightly bare aesthetic of his dwelling. It was fine. Renjun was _fine._ He repeated that to himself on a loop as he walked to the door. Maybe it would stick to one of his three remaining brain cells, this time.

He opened the door without checking to see who was on the other side.

That was, maybe, a mistake.

If Renjun currently looked like he’d been on a week-long bender of no sleep and a partial disregard for personal hygiene, Lee Donghyuck was the exact opposite.

Donghyuck lived two doors down. He and Renjun were barely acquaintances, their interactions mostly limited to greeting each other whenever they passed in the hallway, but Renjun knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Donghyuck had his life together in ways that Renjun could only dare to dream of. He was always wearing these _outfits,_ okay, these insane outfits that no one else could pull off. His makeup was always fully done and impeccable, and he carried himself with an air of confidence that would have made Renjun jealous, if Donghyuck didn’t always seem so incredibly friendly.

Well, he _usually_ had that confidence and friendliness, anyway. Right at this moment, Lee Donghyuck mostly just looked _frazzled._

The longer Renjun stood in his doorway and stared at his neighbor in surprise, the more keenly aware he became of the differences between them. Donghyuck was dressed in a red and black striped shirt with black, (very) skinny jeans that had artful rips at the knees. He’d topped the outfit with a leather jacket in the same dark hue of his jeans. His hair was dark and his eyeliner was smoky, and Renjun was a goddamned _potato._ Renjun was wearing ratty pajamas and he knew his hair was sticking out at odd angles. He could _feel_ it taunting him from on top of his head.   

Thankfully, it appeared Donghyuck, the real-life Instagram model, was willing to look past all that, for the moment.

“I need your help,” he said a little breathlessly, and Renjun couldn’t possibly imagine what Donghyuck could ever need _his_ help with, but he was listening. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do.

Renjun’s eyes floated down on their own, taking in the rest of Donghyuck’s ensemble. His velvet boots had tiny heels on them.

“I need you to watch my cat,” Donghyuck continued.

Renjun was tangentially aware of Donghyuck’s cat. He’d seen the thing in the laundry room with Donghyuck a time or two, because Donghyuck rarely went anywhere without it. Renjun was positive that if it were allowed, Donghyuck would bring his pet to classes, too.

Renjun _really_ wasn’t a cat person.

He sighed, patting his unkempt hair in a useless attempt to make it behave. “I don’t know, Donghyuck,” Renjun started airily, crossing his arms over his chest. Even if it was the furthest thing from the truth, he felt the need to at least _appear_ like he had other, better things to do with his time. Unfortunately, Donghyuck seemed to know better.

“Renjun, _please._ You’re the only one here right now, and I have to go, I have to go home like right now because apparently there’s a fucking _crisis_ or whatever,” Donghyuck rambled. He paused to take a breath, meeting Renjun’s eyes. “Please.”

It was sort of unfair, how gorgeous Donghyuck was, Renjun thought bitterly.

Donghyuck’s eyes narrowed determinedly. “I have cable,” he added.

Look. Huang Renjun was not a sell-out, all right? He couldn’t be _bought_ with promises of free cable and whatever other classy shit Donghyuck had in his apartment. Renjun honestly didn’t know what went on in Donghyuck’s place, but he _did_ know that Donghyuck radiated an aura of _fancy_ at all times.

He also knew that there was a space marathon on the Discovery Channel that started in approximately four hours. Jisung had been talking about it nonstop for the last week, and Renjun had been a little sad that they couldn't watch it together, like they used to before Renjun left for college.

Renjun didn’t have the Discovery Channel. He had a small TV that worked well enough to play old video games on, but the cost of cable was a bit out of his reach right then.

Renjun flashed Donghyuck a bright smile. “I’ll do it,” he decided.

Okay, so maybe he _could_ be bought. Just a little. A bit.

Relief washed over Donghyuck’s face. “Oh, thank god. Freddie can’t be alone for longer than a couple of hours, and I was freaking out thinking I wouldn’t be able to find someone,” he said, grabbing Renjun’s arm and dragging him out of his own apartment so fast that Renjun barely had time to shut the door behind him. He let Donghyuck drag him two doors down, and tried not to think about how soft Donghyuck’s fingers felt, wrapped around Renjun’s small wrist.

“You can sleep in my bed,” Donghyuck was saying as he swung the door to his apartment open. “It’s really big and comfy, promise.” Renjun didn’t doubt that.

“There’s plenty of food in the kitchen, you can eat whatever you want,” Donghyuck continued, letting go of Renjun finally as they stood in the middle of Donghyuck’s living room. Renjun tried to focus on what Donghyuck was saying, but it was proving difficult. There was just so much to take in.

Renjun’s apartment was boring. Undecorated. Barely lived in, because he didn’t have much to show that he was even an occupant.

Donghyuck’s apartment was a complete shift in tone.

There was color _everywhere,_ the walls splashed with silks and curtains and paintings in every color of the rainbow. The TV was huge, as was the collection of movies stacked up around it. The entire space smelled like bright, fresh lemon. Renjun’s apartment still smelled like the curry he’d tried and failed to make two weeks prior.

Renjun’s apartment was lonely. Donghyuck’s felt like home.

Something furry brushed against Renjun’s ankles, and he looked down.

_Oh, right. The cat._

Donghyuck cooed, scooping the animal up and into his arms. “Freddie, this is Renjun,” Donghyuck introduced as he rocked the gray, striped cat gently in his embrace. “He’s going to take care of you for a few days while I go out of town, and you’re going to be _nice_ to him, understand?”

Freddie narrowed his yellow eyes in Renjun’s direction. Renjun was fairly sure he did not, in fact, understand.

Renjun reached out and tried to pet Freddie. He was rewarded with a low hiss, one that Donghyuck clicked his tongue at in disapproval. “ _Be nice,_ ” Donghyuck repeated, wiggling the cat in his arms.

“He’s, uh… pretty,” Renjun tried. He wanted to seem at least halfway capable of caring for the thing while Donghyuck was gone.

Donghyuck gave Renjun a little smile. “She,” he corrected. “Freddie’s a she.”

That made Renjun chuckle. “Freddie’s a she,” he echoed. He decided not to try for another head scratch. Not now.

“She’s named after Freddie Mercury, the greatest singer who ever lived,” Donghyuck reported, bending down to release the cat from his hold and let her scamper away.

“Okay,” Renjun said. He had no idea what the hell Donghyuck was talking about.

A beat of silence passed between them, and finally, Renjun remembered something. “You said you’d be gone for a few days? I kind of… I have a party… a thing, on New Year’s Eve…” he trailed off, hoping he didn’t sound selfish and unaccommodating in Donghyuck’s time of need. He didn’t want to sound like that, but he’d been looking forward to Jaemin’s annual rager for weeks, now.

To his relief, Donghyuck waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, sure, no problem. I’ll be back by that morning at the latest,” he assured Renjun. “Trust me, I don’t want to drag this out any longer than necessary.”

Renjun sort of wanted to ask was _this_ was, but he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to. He stayed quiet instead.

Renjun stayed quiet while Donghyuck showed him where he kept Freddie’s food and litter, and where all her toys were. He tried his best to stay quiet when Donghyuck showed Renjun his bathroom, with it’s fancy, updated garden tub. Renjun had already been a resident when they’d done the updates. He didn’t have any of this.

“You can use the tub, eat the food, watch TV, whatever you want,” Donghyuck was saying, again, like he still needed to convince Renjun to do him this favor. “Just, please don’t leave Freddie alone for long stretches of time,” he repeated, leaning down to pet the top of Freddie’s head gently. She’d been doing figure eights through Donghyuck’s legs for the last minute or so, and Renjun had barely noticed.

“I won’t,” Renjun promised.

Donghyuck gave him a small smile, and for the first time, Renjun noticed a certain nervousness just under Donghyuck’s outgoing, cool facade. He wondered if it was always there, or if this crisis he was having was bringing it to the forefront.

“Thank you, Renjun. I really, really appreciate it. I can pay you when I get back, I just don’t have any cash on me right now…” Donghyuck said regretfully.

Renjun chuckled, following Donghyuck back out into the living room. “You’re letting me sleep in a real bed, watch cable, and eat bomb-ass food all weekend, Donghyuck. I think that’s payment enough,” Renjun told him.

Donghyuck’s answering giggle sounded like bells.

Renjun really needed to eat something that wasn’t ramen. Clearly, it was messing with his head.

Donghyuck finally left thirty minutes later, after a prolonged and awkwardly affectionate goodbye to Freddie, and a much shorter, succinct one to Renjun as he thumped his spare key into Renjun’s hand, just in case.

Renjun waited until he was sure Donghyuck was gone before he snuck back over to his own apartment, grabbing a change of clothes and his toothbrush quickly. When he got back over to Donghyuck’s, Freddie was sitting right by the front door, staring at him accusingly.

Renjun stuck his tongue out at her and went to take a bath.

*

Donghyuck had bubble bath, and The Good Shampoo.

Renjun luxuriated in that garden tub for over an hour. He refilled it twice to keep it hot, adding more bubbles each time. He almost fell asleep thirty minutes in, but then Freddie started scratching at the door, jolting Renjun back to reality.

When he’d finally gotten out and checked the time, Renjun realized the reason Freddie had been bothering him -- it was past time for her dinner. Donghyuck had written down her schedule on a post-it and stuck it to the fridge for Renjun: breakfast at nine, dinner at seven. Renjun dressed in his clean clothes and padded through the apartment to the kitchen, measuring out the cat food carefully as Freddie watched nearby, her large eyes full of passive annoyance. How _cat-like._ He set the bowl down on the floor next to her water, and made sure she’d started to eat before Renjun wandered back into the living room, settling himself on Donghyuck’s plush leather couch and texting Jisung.

 

_Yo are we gonna watch space shit_

 

His friend’s reply only took a minute. Renjun knew Jisung was probably bored too. High school was a drag, but Christmas break tended to drag on forever with nothing to do.

 

_Where’d you find cable? Are you crashing somewhere?_

 

Renjun glanced around the living room of Donghyuck’s apartment. He was really starting to wonder where the soothing lemon smell was coming from, why it was so consistent and pleasant and strong, and briefly, he considered making a list of general adult-slash-house questions to ask Donghyuck when he returned. He could use the help.

 

_Kind of. I’m watching this dude’s cat for a while_

 

Renjun flipped on the TV, punching buttons until he found the Discovery Channel. The marathon hadn’t started yet, but they were showing an old rerun of last year’s special, so Renjun left it on in the background as Jisung replied.

 

_Don’t cats, like… watch themselves?_

 

Freddie sauntered into the room, settling herself in the corner and staring at Renjun with a bored expression on her face. Until today, Renjun had thought cats pretty much just had the one expression, but right now, he could swear the difference was obvious.

 

_Idk man. This one’s definitely watching me._

 

Jisung and Renjun chatted some more while they waited for the marathon to start. Renjun got up after a while, poking through Donghyuck’s pantry and cupboards until he found some popcorn. He popped himself a bowl and poured an extra large cup of soda for himself, carrying them back to the couch and glancing at his phone again. The corners of Renjun’s mouth turned down into a small frown as he noticed the six new messages he’d received, all in the last five minutes. They couldn’t _all_ be from Jisung.

They were definitely not all from Jisung.

 

_Did you give Freddie her dinner?_

_She's on a special diet plan_

_Has to eat at the same times every day_

_Or so the vet says_

 

Renjun and Donghyuck had exchanged numbers before Donghyuck left, so Renjun could text Donghyuck if there were any problems. He honestly hadn’t expected to be the one receiving the texts, but he replied anyway.

 

_Yeah. Everything’s fine._

 

Belatedly, Renjun sent a smiley face as a follow-up text, just to further boost whatever faith Donghyuck had in him, so far. He had no idea why Donghyuck was so attached to his cat, but he was obviously stressed out about a myriad of other things, so Renjun thought it couldn’t hurt to be extra reassuring.

 

_Good. I’m on the plane about to take off. I’ll text you again later. Thanks Renjun!_

 

Donghyuck sent a flower emoji after that. It made Renjun smile in its unexpected sweetness, although he’d never admit it. Not even to Freddie, his only company for the next few days.

Jisung and Renjun only made it three hours into their space shows before Jisung punked out and went to bed. Renjun didn’t mind too much. It was three hours more than he’d thought he’d be getting, previously, and he was grateful. He’d missed the feeling of being entranced by knowledge, by information. Sure, he was in school, but all _that_ knowledge seemed painfully boring in comparison to learning about the fourteen moons of Neptune, honestly.

Renjun didn’t even make it to Donghyuck’s bed, that first night. He dozed off on the couch with the TV still on, and Freddie keeping a steady, suspicious watch over him from her spot in the corner.

 

**_December 28th_ **

When he woke up the next morning, winter sunlight streaming in through the blinds of Donghyuck’s window, Renjun’s phone was blowing up.

He’d missed a small flurry of texts and calls, and Donghyuck was calling again.

Hurriedly, Renjun pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear, his voice croaky from sleep. “Hello?”

On the other end of the line, Donghyuck breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god. I thought you were dead or something, I was getting worried.”

Renjun sat up a little, blinking and rubbing his eyes with his free hand. “No. Not dead. Just sleeping,” he reported, starting a bit when he realized Freddie was standing on his knees, staring at him calmly.

“It’s past nine-thirty. Freddie needs her breakfast,” Donghyuck mentioned, and Renjun shot off the couch, dumping Freddie off in the process as he jogged into the kitchen quickly to clean her bowl out and refill it.

“Shit. I’m sorry, Donghyuck. I didn’t mean to oversleep. It won’t happen again, I prom--”

Donghyuck laughed, and the clear sound startled Renjun into silence. “It’s okay, Renjun. I’m not mad.”

Renjun tried not to make his own relief too obvious. “That’s. That’s good,” he muttered, concentrating on fixing Freddie’s food and placing it on the floor when he was done. “How’s… wherever… whatever you’re doing?” he questioned. It was too early, and he wasn’t awake enough yet to regret invading Donghyuck’s privacy. He’d already been invited to invade his home, after all.

Donghyuck made a small noise of discontent, clearing his throat. “It’s… it’s something, all right,” he murmured.

Renjun didn’t press the issue.

They didn’t stay on the phone much longer after that, either. They still barely knew each other, so they didn’t have a lot to talk about, and Donghyuck seemed fairly busy. Or something. Either way, Renjun didn’t want to keep him too long. Even if he was, well, _interested_ , in Donghyuck’s life, a little.

Just a little.

A few hours later, Renjun was starting to wonder if he’d ever actually venture further into Donghyuck’s apartment than his couch, and the kitchen, which was near to the couch. After all, this was where the big TV was. That was pretty much all Renjun needed to be happy.

Around lunchtime, Renjun discovered just how fully stocked Donghyuck’s kitchen was. He found tons of meat in the fridge and freezer, and spent the next hour making himself the best approximation of hot pot he could manage, just because he could. Sure, he didn’t survive on just ramen _all_ the time (sometimes he had pizza), but it had been ages since he’d had a meal like this. Even if it wasn’t spectacular, and under-seasoned on top of that, Renjun ate every last bit. He even did the dishes when he was done, rather than let them pile up in the sink like he did at his own place.

After lunch, when Renjun had gone back to lazing on the couch, Donghyuck texted again.

 

_So, my sister ran off and got married._

 

Renjun had no idea what to say to that. He didn’t know anything about Donghyuck’s family. He had no business knowing.

 

_That’s why I had to go home so suddenly_

_She’s my twin and she’s always been a little… yeah_

_Anyway she always has a new boyfriend when she comes home but this time she has a whole ass HUSBAND_

_My mom is freaking out_

_She said she couldn’t get through this weekend of them visiting without her “favorite child”_

_It’s me_

_I’m her favorite child_

_At this point it might be because I haven’t brought home a spontaneous husband of my own at age nineteen_

 

Something in Renjun’s stomach flipped at the casual admission of Donghyuck’s tastes. He decided to ignore it, texting back before Donghyuck could add any more to his rant.

 

_That's wild_

 

Renjun cringed the moment he pressed send. He could have thought of something more eloquent, wiser. Probably. Maybe.

 

_Yeah_

_The atmosphere here is unsatisfying_

_Everyone’s mad at each other but they won’t have it out_

_Typical_

_I want to leeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaave_

 

Renjun’s brow furrowed. He wondered why Donghyuck was texting _him_ about all this, why he couldn’t just talk to one of his many friends. Maybe he needed an impartial, outside ear, Renjun decided.

 

_Sorry I’m texting you about this_

_I don’t really want to talk to anyone who’ll try to give me advice_

 

Chuckling, Renjun tapped his keyboard quickly.

 

_I would never pretend I knew what I was talking about, Donghyuck_

 

Renjun curled up on the couch, phone clutched between his hands.

 

_You’re funny. I like it._

_Thanks, Renjun_

 

Renjun knew he was probably smiling awkwardly. He didn’t care. There was no one there to see it except Freddie, and she was napping next to Donghyuck’s coffee table. Renjun was glad she seemed to be slowly getting comfortable enough with him to expand her reach beyond the corner of the living room.

 

_You’re welcome_

_You can talk to me whenever_

_I don’t mind_

 

Lifting his phone and turning it around, Renjun snapped a picture of Freddie, sending it to Donghyuck. He replied almost instantly.

 

_MY BABY_

_She looks comfortable!_

_I’m kind of amazed_

 

Renjun wasn’t sure what was so amazing about a catnap, but he decided it didn’t really matter. His phone beeped with another series of texts from Donghyuck.

 

_I gotta go for now_

_I’ll text later_

 

Renjun didn’t know why Donghyuck kept adding that last part, when it was obvious that he had no intention of slowing down on his communication.

Renjun didn’t want him to.

*

Just to feel like he was doing something productive while he had Donghyuck’s apartment to himself, apart from watching Freddie make nests for herself on and around all of Donghyuck’s furniture, Renjun decided to spend the day tidying up Donghyuck’s place.

(It didn’t take very long, so Renjun resorted to alphabetizing the books on Donghyuck’s shelf while Jaemin live-blogged his experience on the train ride home in the group chat he shared with his friends.)

He watched some more TV, worked out on Donghyuck’s treadmill, and when Renjun had finally run out of things to do after dinner, he headed to Donghyuck’s bedroom to lay down for the evening.

Freddie followed him curiously. She’d taken to trotting along after Renjun wherever he went. It definitely wasn’t _adorable,_ or anything. Renjun would never admit _that._

He hadn’t been in Donghyuck’s room yet, not properly. Renjun wasn’t sure why he felt nervous about it, as he peeked around the doorway and flipped on the light switch on the wall next to him.

If the rest of Donghyuck’s apartment was cozy yet classy, elegant yet welcoming, Donghyuck’s room was something completely unexpected. Donghyuck had traded the plain, white lightbulbs in his ceilling fan for cool toned blue lights, casting an otherworldly glow wherever they touched. His walls were painted dark red. Renjun hadn’t even known they were allowed to paint the walls, here. Maybe they weren’t, he realized after a moment of thought. Donghyuck didn’t seem like the kind of person who would care. Renjun liked that. Anyway, the walls were red, and not only that, but they were covered from floor to ceiling with posters. Michael Jackson seemed to be the standout artist represented, and Renjun made a mental note to delve further into the singer’s catalog whenever he had a chance. There were posters of Queen, of course (Renjun had looked the band up while he was in the bathtub the night before out of sheer curiosity about this Freddie Mercury person), and any spaces that were left, Donghyuck had filled with those little glow in the dark stars Renjun remembered from his childhood.

His eyes went from the walls to the ceiling, and to Renjun’s delight, the stars were _everywhere._ They looked ethereal in the blue light, nearly shining above his head. There were stars and moons and comets and even planets, a whole galaxy Donghyuck had created for his private space. Renjun laid on Donghyuck’s bed, curling into the pile of pillows and blankets immediately. It smelled less like lemon here than in the rest of the house, but Renjun didn’t mind. That bright, soothing scent had been replaced by something so incredibly _Donghyuck,_ and Renjun didn’t know how he knew that, because he barely knew the guy, but it was true.

As he laid there, staring at the starry sky of Donghyuck’s bedroom, Renjun made another New Year’s resolution, to add to the couch he was definitely going to get as soon as possible: he was going to make his small apartment his own, this next year. He would decorate it, finally. Get some color on the walls and maybe buy some posters for himself, of art that caught his eye. Maybe Donghyuck could help him, Renjun thought, a light pink blush creeping up his neck slowly.

He sat up before that blush could reach all the way to his cheeks, glancing across the room at yet another bookshelf. Renjun hadn’t really pegged Donghyuck as a big reader, but he was absolutely being proven wrong. The bookshelves in the living room were stuffed full, and in here it was no different. He slid off the bed, shuffling over to them and peering at all the titles. Sandwiched in between classics and comics, Donghyuck had book after book on subjects like astrology, tarot, meditation and the like. Renjun had never really been into those sorts of things, but maybe he could learn, a little. It was always good to expand one’s knowledge, after all.

He plucked Donghyuck’s copy of _The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need_ off the shelf and carried it back to the bed with him, flipping to a random page and reading as best he could in the dim blue light. Renjun barely noticed when Freddie jumped onto the bed and made herself comfortable against his back, he was so absorbed in the brand new information jumping off the page and into his brain with every word of every sentence. He might have laid there for hours, reading and inhaling the scent of Donghyuck all around him, before his eyes finally gave up on him and Renjun fell asleep, surrounded by Donghyuck’s twinkling, beautiful universe.

 

**_December 29th_ **

Renjun woke up on time the next morning. He’d made sure to set alarms, now, one at five minutes to nine in the morning and another at seven in the evening. He was going to be responsible, dammit. For Donghyuck. He was trusting him with his cat, after all.

 

_I’m awake, don’t worry_

 

Renjun sent the text to Donghyuck with a little smile as he sat on the bed, yawning and stretching his limbs out. Freddie was awake, too, standing near the door expectantly. If Renjun’s smile turned a bit fond as he observed the fluffy cat, no one would ever have to know.

 

_I wasn’t. :P did you sleep well?_

 

Renjun was puttering around the kitchen by the time Donghyuck answered, filling Freddie’s bowl and poking through the pantry for something he could make himself.

 

_Your bed is amazing_

 

Pushing two pieces of bread into the toaster on Donghyuck’s kitchen counter, Renjun leaned on his elbows, checking the rest of his notifications while he waited for his breakfast and another text from Donghyuck.

 

_Haha thanks. It doesn’t seem that great after a while of sleeping in it alone_

 

Once again, Renjun had no idea what to say, but this time, it was because he was too busy fighting down that same annoying blush again, working hard to keep his heart from fluttering too noisily in his chest.

 

_Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound so…_

 

Renjun finished spreading strawberry jam over his toast and sat at the table with his plate and a glass of orange juice. He picked up his phone and stared at Donghyuck’s messages, still unsure of what to say. What he was _allowed_ to say. Shit, what he was allowed to _feel._ It had been a long time since anyone had made Renjun feel anything at all, and of course it would end up being a near-stranger who was definitely, one hundred percent out of Renjun’s league. One who was probably just flirting to flirt, without any real meaning behind it.

But still…

Renjun typed quickly, before he could talk himself out of it.

 

_It’s okay. I kind of liked it._

 

The moment his fingers had finished pecking the words out, Renjun let out an undignified little shriek and tossed his phone across the table and away from him, startling Freddie mid-meal and causing her to dash out of the kitchen as fast as she could. Renjun frowned after her. That had been an unintentional casualty of his mini-meltdown, but she’d be back. Ignoring the rapidly cooling toast he’d been so hungry for only a minute earlier, Renjun sighed and reached across the table for his phone. Donghyuck hadn’t replied yet. Renjun’s eyes flicked from the phone to his toast and back again, over and over. He was nervous, now. He’d just lobbed the metaphorical flirt ball straight into Donghyuck’s court, and he had no idea what Donghyuck was going to do with it.

The minutes ticked by. No response. Renjun had a bite of his toast.

Those minutes turned into hours. He threw the rest of the toast away, then Renjun sat very still on Donghyuck’s couch. He was meditating, obviously. He definitely wasn’t having an entire nervous breakdown over a few harmless words sent over text.

It was past lunchtime when Renjun’s phone finally buzzed with a new text. Renjun tried not to feel completely idiotic at the way he lunged towards the tiny object breathlessly in his haste to see what Donghyuck had to say to his blatant headassery earlier that day.

 

_I didn’t mean to disappear_

_My mom roped me into making dumplings_

_You know how it is_

_A whole Process_

 

Renjun did not actually know how it was, but that wasn’t the point.

 

_I just realized I know like nothing about you_

_Tell me things_

 

Heaving a sigh, Renjun closed his eyes for a brief moment. He wasn’t sure if Donghyuck was blatantly ignoring his flirting, or if this text was meant to be a continuation of it, or what the hell was going on. He wasn’t even sure if there was anything that interesting about himself to _tell,_ but dammit, Renjun would make some shit up if he had to. Probably. Maybe not. He was a terrible liar.

 

_Um. Well_

_I’m Huang Renjun_

_I’m from China but I live here now_

 

Renjun wrinkled his nose in annoyance. He wished he was better at this, better at people.

 

_Things that aren’t obvious, Renjun._

_Things only your friends know_

 

Renjun felt warm and bubbly on the inside, suddenly. Was Donghyuck saying that he wanted to be Renjun’s friend? It was a start…

 

_Oh_

_I like drawing_

_And Moomin_

_I’m majoring in Fine Arts_

_I like space too_

_Aliens_

_Things like that_

 

Donghyuck’s answer took thirty minutes.

 

_:)_

 

Renjun wanted to die, just a bit. Instead, he forged ahead.

 

_What about you?_

 

He hadn’t noticed, but Freddie had hopped up and into Renjun’s lap as he laid on the couch, purring against his chest contentedly. Renjun chuckled, rewarding her with gentle sweeps of his palm across the crown of her head. She was soft, and warm. It made Renjun happy.

 

_I’m a vocal performance major_

 

Renjun blinked at the words on his screen. He tried to imagine what Donghyuck’s voice sounded like. He knew what it _sounded_ like, obviously, but he tried to think of it singing. He pictured Donghyuck on a stage, lost in the music and holding his audience in the palm of his hand. Holding _Renjun_ right along with them.

 

_That’s cool_

_I like all your Michael Jackson posters_

 

Renjun made more toast while he waited for the conversation to continue, and he ate it all that time. He felt the tiniest bit bad about throwing out his previous meal, but honestly? Donghyuck probably wouldn’t care. Just in case, Renjun resolved to take out the trash before Donghyuck came home.

The conversation died out after that. Donghyuck’s reply came another hour later, and it only said that things were getting busy with preparations for a big family dinner that evening, so he’d be in touch later. Renjun was running out of things to do, running out of things that weren’t laying around daydreaming about Donghyuck, and now Donghyuck’s voice, so that afternoon, he decided to take another bath. Donghyuck’s bathtub was absolutely heavenly compared to Renjun’s tiny walk-in shower. He wondered if he could talk the management of the building into updating his apartment, too. Maybe he could stay with Donghyuck, while they did it. The thought made Renjun giggle to himself.

Donghyuck had said Renjun was welcome to anything in his place. Renjun repeated that fact to himself while he padded into Donghyuck’s room after his shower. He needed a bathrobe. He’d only brought the one change of clothes, and he couldn’t exactly go traipsing back to his own apartment for a new outfit completely naked, so he’d need to throw something over himself. It was logical. It definitely wasn’t invading Donghyuck’s privacy. He told himself that as he opened the door to Donghyuck’s closet carefully.

Donghyuck had more clothes than Renjun had ever seen one person own in his entire life. Both sides of the closet were full of hung-up shirts and pants and jackets, a pile of jeans folded neatly on one of the shelves. Renjun stared at Donghyuck’s expansive collection of oversized, fuzzy pastel sweaters. He wondered how they looked on Donghyuck, if they made him look softer. Younger. Cuddly, even.

Shaking his head to clear that thought out, Renjun spotted what he was looking for: a simple white bathrobe was hung near the front of the closet, and Renjun grabbed it, wrapping it around his body quickly. He was about to shut the closet door again and head over to his place, when Renjun noticed a small cardboard box sitting on the floor, halfway open.

He wouldn’t have looked, honestly. Renjun was a man of principles, and those principles generally did not include going through the belongings of his crushes.

His… whatever.

His principles were usually higher than that, but then Renjun noticed what the box contained, and he couldn’t help himself.

He sank to the floor with Donghyuck’s bathrobe still on, the soft fabric pooling around his legs as he crouched next to the box and reached inside with one timid hand. Cautiously, he liberated a CD in a plain jewel case. In loopy, scrawled text, it was labeled “Donghyuck Demo - 2017”. Renjun stared at it for a moment, then his eyes fell back to the box. Just underneath the CD, Renjun found a small pile of photos. He glanced at the one on top, letting the CD slip onto the carpet under his feet. Gingerly, Renjun picked the photo up and looked at it properly.

It was a picture of a band performing. Renjun could see a guitar player and a drummer, and he could see…

Donghyuck.

Donghyuck was center stage, clutching a microphone in a stand with both hands as he sang into it. He was wearing leather pants and his eyes were lined to shit, and Renjun could almost _feel_ the passion dripping off of him, even through this old photo. Renjun flipped the picture over, and it was dated 6/6/17, along with the words “Donghyuck’s B-day Show!” Renjun wished he’d been there to see it. He wondered if Donghyuck still performed with this band. If he could manage to invite himself to a show sometime.

Dropping the photo back into the box, Renjun straightened up and left the closet, his heart beating fast with something he wasn’t sure he wanted to spend too much time analyzing. He wandered back out into the living room, heading towards the door. Freddie was watching him from her perch on Donghyuck’s dining table.

“I’ll be right back,” Renjun told her, and then he let himself out of Donghyuck’s apartment and hurried back to his own place, and he didn’t notice he still had Donghyuck’s demo CD in his hand until he’d shut the door behind him.

Renjun frowned at his unintentional thievery, setting the CD on his coffee table while he changed his clothes.

When he stepped back into the living room a minute or two later, the CD was still there. Taunting him. Practically _begging_ to be listened to.

Renjun should really be getting back to Donghyuck’s apartment. He didn’t even have a CD player. He had a school laptop, but he was pretty sure the crappy speakers wouldn’t capture the full majesty of whatever the CD contained. So that was definitely life’s way of telling him he’d fucked up, and he needed to just put the CD back in Donghyuck’s box in Donghyuck’s closet immediately.

Twenty minutes, two apartments and one happily fed cat later, after Renjun had discovered that Donghyuck owned an ancient boom box with a CD player in it, for no discernable reason, he sat on the floor of Donghyuck’s closet with the music on Donghyuck’s demo surrounding him. Freddie walked in slow circles around him while he listened, brushing her warm fur against his knees on every other pass.

Donghyuck was incredible.

His voice was high, but somehow husky. Pure, but he could imbue it with a rock ‘n’ roll grit that Renjun hadn’t expected. The music was good too, even if it wasn’t the sort of thing Renjun would usually listen to.

He sighed, leaning his head back until it thumped against the wall. Like he’d _needed_ one more thing to like about Donghyuck.

Renjun’s phone buzzed in the pocket of his jeans, signaling that he’d received a new text. He tried to yank it out as calmly as possible, but it could be Donghyuck, and Renjun kind of literally wanted nothing more than to talk to him, right at that moment.

 

_Can I call you?_

 

Renjun’s eyes widened. Donghyuck had never wanted to call him before, for any other reason than to quickly check if he was still breathing. Granted, they’d only _really_ known each other for a whole two days, at that point, but he’d seemed content enough with texting. Renjun wondered what had changed, whether Donghyuck was all right. If something had happened.

 

_Sure_

 

Renjun typed the word and sent it before he prepared himself. He needed at least several more minutes to pull himself together for this conversation, but four seconds was all he got before his phone was ringing and he was frantically pausing the CD still blasting from the tiny boom box.

“H-hello?” Renjun heard his voice shake on the word, but it was too late to take it back.

“Hey,” Donghyuck said. He sounded tired.

“Hi,” Renjun answered. “Everything okay?”

Renjun heard small shuffling noises on Donghyuck’s end of the line, then a _flop_ and a sigh of relief, as if he’d just laid down in bed.

“I guess. Kinda. Dinner’s over, at least.”

Renjun got up from the floor of Donghyuck’s closet, crossing the room with his phone still held to his ear as he wriggled himself under the blankets on Donghyuck’s bed. “That’s good, right?”

Donghyuck let out a long breath. “Yeah. I just…”

Renjun felt like he was holding the breath that Donghyuck had huffed out, like they were trading back and forth.

“I just wanted to hear a friendly voice.”

Donghyuck paused.

“I wanted to hear _your_ voice.”

Renjun was blushing. Again. “Why?”

Donghyuck chuckled quietly, the sound shivering its way down Renjun’s spine. “I don’t know. I like your voice,” he murmured softly.

“I -- I like yours too,” Renjun said, before he could stop himself. If only Donghyuck knew.

“Mmm,” Donghyuck replied, and then neither of them said anything for a while.

Renjun was trying to think as fast as he could, trying to grasp at any idea he could come up with to keep talking, to keep Donghyuck on the phone, now that he had him. As always, he wasn’t quite fast enough for Donghyuck.

“My sister left a while ago. With her husband,” Donghyuck started. “Dinner did… not go well.”

Renjun made a small noise that he hoped sounded sympathetic. “I’m sorry. Are you okay, though?” It surprised him, how much he cared.

“Yeah,” Donghyuck answered without hesitation. “I’m just tired. I miss Freddie and I miss my bed. It’s like I forget how difficult my family is, sometimes, and then I’m reminded all at once,” he ended, laughing a little.

“I’m going to miss your bed, too,” Renjun admitted, and he knew the different ways Donghyuck could take that comment, but he decided not to pause and find out which interpretation had won. “And Freddie.”

When Donghyuck spoke again, there was a smile in his voice. Renjun was glad. “You guys are getting along, then?”

“Yeah,” Renjun replied. “She seems to like me.”

Donghyuck’s voice sounded shyer. Smaller. “Smart cat.”

Renjun ignored that for the time being. For his sanity.

“Donghyuck, what’s the deal with Freddie? Why can’t she be alone?” Renjun asked. It seemed like the safest of all the subjects swirling around in his head. He’d been wondering about that story, anyway. 

“Oh,” Donghyuck said, sounding a bit surprised by Renjun’s question. “She, um…”

Internally, Renjun cursed himself for being the prying dickhead he was. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me. I’m sorry I--”

“No, no. Renjun. It’s fine,” Donghyuck interrupted. “I don’t mind. It’s just that… no one’s ever asked before. No one’s ever cared.”

Renjun bit his lip, staring at the stars on Donghyuck’s ceiling. “I care.”

He thought he heard Donghyuck giggle, just a little, before he went on.

“I adopted Freddie from the shelter just before I came to university. They had her by herself, all alone in a cage. Said she’d come from an abusive household and wasn’t good with other animals, or people. Aggressive, even,” Donghyuck told Renjun.

“They warned me that she had serious abandonment issues, that I’d have to devote a lot of time and attention to her if it was going to work out,” Donghyuck continued. “They let me go into this little room with her, out of the cage, and…” He stopped short, and Renjun thought he might have heard Donghyuck sniffle. “She jumped into my lap right away. Purred and clung to me, and I just knew that I couldn’t leave her there. I was willing to do whatever it took to make sure she was all right. It was like she knew she could trust me.”

Renjun was not tearing up. Not even a little bit.

“That’s really nice,” he managed to choke out, trying like hell to pull himself together. He wasn’t used to being so _soft,_ but Donghyuck seemed to bring it out of him without even trying.

“Yeah,” Donghyuck said with another chuckle. “She’s my best friend. Sometimes she feels like my _only_ real friend.”

Renjun frowned. “I’m your friend,” he responded immediately, before he could stop himself.

“Yeah?” Donghyuck countered.

“Yeah.”

Donghyuck giggled again. Renjun felt faint. “I’m glad.”

The next silence wasn’t nearly as awkward.

“Tell me something else about you,” Donghyuck murmured after a while, just when Renjun had started to drift off, without meaning to.

“Hmm?” Renjun slurred, blinking his eyes open again.

“I’m sorry,” Donghyuck said regretfully. “Should I let you go?”

“No!” Renjun barked out, a little too loud and a little too fast. “No. No, I’m here. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

Donghyuck laughed. “Go ahead.”

Renjun thought for a moment. “I volunteer at a homeless shelter once a week. I help cook for the residents in the soup kitchen. I really like doing it, the people are so nice.”

Renjun heard Donghyuck suck in a breath. “What else?”

“Um… I like dogs more than cats, truthfully, Donghyuck. Freddie might be the exception,” Renjun said thoughtfully. It made Donghyuck laugh again. Renjun wanted to keep making him laugh. Possibly forever.

“I’ll forgive you, Huang Renjun. But only ‘cause you’re cute. And nice.”

Renjun might have blacked out, then. The only person that called him cute was Jaemin, and Jaemin called everyone _cute._

“Thanks,” Renjun answered, nerves tingeing his voice. “I think you’re… you’re--”

“What else, Renjun?” Donghyuck pressed.

There was really only one other thing Renjun wanted to tell Donghyuck at that exact moment.

“I snooped in your closet,” Renjun rushed out. Donghyuck didn’t repsond immediately, so Renjun went on. “I didn’t mean to, I swear, I was only looking for a bathrobe but then I saw this box with CDs in it and I found your demo CD and listened to it, and while I’m thinking about it, why do you even still own a boom box, like, it’s 2018, Donghyuck, and anyway, I listened to it and you’re amazing and I really just want to hear you sing more.”

Renjun had said it all in one breath, and he had to stop after that, if only to gulp the missing air back into his lungs. He was terrified, suddenly, worried that Donghyuck would be mad at him for listening to his demo without permission.

The stillness before Donghyuck answered seemed to go on forever, broken up only by the crackling of the connection between them. Phone and otherwise.

“You wanna hear me sing?” Donghyuck sounded surprised. He didn’t sound mad.

Renjun swallowed hard. “Yeah.”

So, Donghyuck sang. He sang song after song to Renjun, all in a quiet, hushed voice that felt far more intimate than Renjun was ready for. He sang EXO songs, and SHINee songs. He sang songs Renjun hadn’t heard before. He wondered if Donghyuck had written them himself. He sang until he was yawning into the notes and Renjun was floating just above unconsciousness, and then Donghyuck whispered, “Goodnight, Renjun. Thank you,” and hung up.

The next thing Renjun knew, it was five before nine the next morning, his alarm was going off, and Freddie was standing on his chest, waiting to be fed.

Renjun’s phone was still in his hand.

 

**_December 30th_ **

Renjun didn’t even look at his phone notifications until he’d fed Freddie. Everything from last night was coming back to him, the more he woke up, and he wasn’t sure what happened next. Would Donghyuck act like nothing had happened? Was _Renjun_ supposed to act like nothing happened? Did they need to talk about it? Renjun didn’t have a lot of experience with things like this. In fact, the only people he knew who _did_ have experience were Jaemin and Jeno, and their “experience” basically consisted of dating each other since they were like, eight.

So that wasn’t helpful.

Renjun sat at the kitchen table, his phone in front of him. Delicately, he unlocked it, bracing himself for whatever he was going to find.

There were two texts from Jeno, reminding him about Jaemin’s party the next night, as if Renjun ever forgot.

There was an e-mail from Renjun’s mother, wishing him an early happy New Year.

There were fifty-six messages worth of useless spam from Jisung in their KakaoTalk chat, mostly just memes and him screaming unintelligibly about the latest developments with his classmate crush, Chenle. It seemed Chenle liked space shit, too, or he was at least pretending to, because he liked Jisung. Renjun smiled. He was happy for them.

He cleared all those notifications out, and then he got to his text conversation with Donghyuck.

 

_Good morning :)_

_Thank you for talking to me last night, I really had a good time_

_I’m looking at flights home now. Don’t worry, I’ll be there in time for your party_

 

Renjun wondered if Jeno and Jaemin would be opposed to him inviting Donghyuck along. As friends, of course. He didn’t know if they were actually anything else, yet.

After those messages, Donghyuck had sent a picture of a flower, clutched between his fingers.

 

_Do you know what this is? It’s really pretty_

 

Renjun had no idea why Donghyuck thought he’d know anything about flowers, except that he _did_. His mother had been a florist since before Renjun was born and Renjun had always loved learning about the plants she arranged so artfully.

He squinted at the picture, typing a response quickly.

 

_Korean whitebeam. It is pretty :)_

_How did you know I liked flowers?_

 

He drained a glass of water, standing at the kitchen counter now.

 

_I took a chance :) I like them._

 

Renjun smiled.

 

_Me too_

 

Donghyuck sent another smiley face after that, then three of his favorite flower emojis.

Renjun sent a heart back, and tried not to feel awkward about it.

He definitely wasn’t going to let Donghyuck’s lack of a reply _make_ him feel awkward about it.

He spent the rest of the day making sure Donghyuck’s apartment was clean from top to bottom, that every single room was spotless and practically sparkling in its pristineness, and no dishes were in the sink. He made sure Freddie’s litter box was fresh and that her food bowls were washed thoroughly. He made Donghyuck’s bed, and then he made it again, because Renjun had never been very good at that particular chore.

And if he did all of that while listening to Donghyuck’s demo at top volume, on repeat?

Well. Nobody had to know.

 

**_December 31st - 1:18pm_ **

 

_ARE YOU READY TO FUCKING RAAAAAGE TONIGHT_

_JENO GOT A KEG_

_WE CAN LEGALLY DRINK IT AT MIDNIGHT_

 

Renjun snorted, shifting on Donghyuck’s couch uncomfortably. He’d been dressed and ready for the last three hours, since Donghyuck had let him know he was heading to the airport. He was dressed for the party, even though he really didn’t have to be. He was going to have time to change, once he got back to his own place. He just… he knew he looked good in the leather pants and choker, okay? It was a Look. A Look that demanded to be the first thing Donghyuck saw when he walked through his apartment door.

 

_You guys have gotten blasted the last two New Year’s, Jaemin_

 

Jaemin sent back a pouting emoji. Five of them, actually.

 

_Yeah, but this year it’s going DOWN_

 

Rolling his eyes, Renjun patted the empty bit of couch next to him, so Freddie would jump up for some pets.

 

_Ok_

 

He leaned down and kissed the top of Freddie’s head, giving her extra chin scratches. He was going to miss being around the cat, if he was being honest.

 

_Is your neighbor back yet? You’re not gonna miss this, right?_

 

Renjun hadn’t heard from Donghyuck in a while. He was assuming it was because Donghyuck was on the plane and headed home.

 

_I’ll be there._

 

As soon as he sent the text, Renjun received another, from Donghyuck.

 

_So, everything is going to shit_

 

Renjun waited.

 

_I got here and my flight was overbooked so I gave up my seat to a mom with a baby_

_Then the next flight was full_

_And the next_

_So I’m sitting here waiting to be put on a plane_

 

Renjun tried not to deflate too much. He was worried about Donghyuck. He hoped it wasn’t too stressful. Renjun hated airports.

 

_I’m sorry :( you can talk to me, if it helps pass the time_

 

Flipping the TV on, Renjun waited for a reply.

 

_Oh, I’m passing the time just fine_

_I’m hovering by the customer service counter and asking about flights every three minutes_

_This lady working the desk fucking hates me_

 

Renjun chuckled, putting his old standby the Discovery Channel on.

 

_Well, don’t make too much of a scene. There’s plenty of time before the party._

 

Renjun hesitated, biting his lip.

 

_Speaking of which_

_Do you want to come with me? You could meet my friends_

_It’s apparently going to be a “rager”_

 

By the time Donghyuck answered, the phone in Renjun’s hand was covered in a thin layer of nervous sweat. _Gross._

 

_Haha_

_I’d like that :) I don’t know if I’m rager ready, but I can fake it well enough_

 

Renjun couldn’t stop the grin that spread wide across his face.

 

_We can fake it together <3 _

 

**_December 31st, 4:46pm_ **

 

_I’m still waiting_

_This is bullshit, three more flights have left_

_Uuggghhhh_

 

**_December 31st, 6:27pm_ **

 

_They swear I’m gonna be on the next flight_

 

**_December 31st, 7:05pm_ **

 

_They lied_

 

**_December 31st, 7:34pm_ **

“Honestly, you should just go to the party without me,” Donghyuck said, fighting to be heard over the sounds of the full airport on his end. “Freddie’ll be okay until I get home. I’ll make it up to her.”

Renjun put Donghyuck on speakerphone, shooting off a quick text to Jeno that he was going to be absent. Between the two of them, Jeno was much more likely to receive the news calmly than his boyfriend.

 

_Jeno, I’m not gonna make it. Stuff’s come up here. Tell Jaemin not to be too mad, okay? Happy New Year!_

 

When that was done, he pressed the speakerphone button again to turn it off and held the phone to his ear.

“I’m not just going to leave her, Donghyuck,” Renjun said firmly. “She needs company, and I promised you I’d keep her company until you got home.”

Renjun could almost hear Donghyuck’s frown. “But, your party…”

“Will rage with or without me,” Renjun confirmed, unclasping the choker from around his neck and tossing it on Donghyuck’s coffee table for the time being. “It’s _fine,_ Hyuck. Just get home, okay? I’ll be here when you do.”

Donghyuck sighed. “The world doesn’t deserve you, Huang Renjun.”

Renjun smiled. “You and Freddie do,” he said, and then he hung up before Donghyuck could protest.

 

**_December 31st, 8:59pm_ **

By the time Jeno replied, Renjun had fallen asleep on Donghyuck’s couch, boots on the floor underneath him and Freddie in his arms.

 

_I hope this guy’s worth it, Renjun. Want me to beat him up if he’s not?_

 

**_December 31st, 9:02pm_ **

 

_I AM FINALLY ON A MOTHER FUCKING PLANE_

 

**_December 31st, 9:05pm_ **

 

_Renjun?_

_Are you there?_

 

**_December 31st, 11:58pm_ **

“Renjun. Wake up, sleepyhead.”

Renjun stirred awake to the feeling of lips pressed against his cheek softly, but just as quickly as they were there, they retreated. He couldn’t help a quiet groan of displeasure at the loss of sensation as he sat up, rubbing at his eyes tiredly.

Donghyuck was crouched next to the couch where Renjun had dozed off. In the background, the TV was muted, still on the channel that Renjun had changed it to earlier, where he could watch the ball drop at midnight. Donghyuck smiled, that slight fatigue still on his face, but, Renjun noticed, it was different, now. He looked relaxed. Not stressed, like he had been before he went out of town.

Donghyuck moved back the smallest bit to let Renjun sit up, and for the first time, Renjun noticed the unopened bottle of champagne under Donghyuck’s arm, and the small bunch of white flowers clasped in his hand. Korean whitebeam.

“Hi,” Donghyuck said, a little smile on his face. His eyeliner was smudged at the edges, like he’d tried to sleep on the hour-long plane ride. He still looked beautiful.

“Hi,” Renjun murmured back, his eyes floating to the bottle and the flowers.

“Oh,” Donghyuck said, remembering them too. “I saw these outside the airport when I got back. They made me think of you.” He stopped, a blush coloring his cheeks. “I mean. I kind of haven’t _stopped_ thinking of you.”

Renjun blinked. “And that?” he questioned, pointing at the bottle.

Donghyuck laughed softly. “Stole it from my parents’ house before I left and stashed it in my suitcase. I know you didn’t get to go to your party, but…”

Renjun looked up at the TV behind them. The countdown to midnight was about to begin.

“I’m sorry I was late,” Donghyuck was saying, again, for the fiftieth time that day. “I just thought that maybe we could at least have a toast.”

 

_10…_

_9…_

_8…_

 

Renjun started to smile. He reached out and took the bottle from Donghyuck, placing it safely on the coffee table behind them.

 

_7…_

_6…_

_5…_

 

Renjun plucked the flowers out of Donghyuck’s hand, tucking them behind one of his ears as Donghyuck watched, an affectionate, amused grin on his face.

 

_4…_

_3…_

 

Leaning forward, Renjun cupped Donghyuck’s face in his hands. Donghyuck gazed at him, cheeks still flushed and lips slightly parted.

 

_2…_

_1._

 

“Happy New Year, Donghyuck,” Renjun whispered, just before their lips met.


End file.
